Steel workers lament closure of 272 factories

Steel and engineering workers have raised an alarm over the closure of 272 factories and sack of 3,000 since 2016.  The National President of Steel and Engineering Workers’ Union of Nigeria (SEWUN), Mr. Elijah Adigun, said  that any economy that is not producing goods and services could not come out of recession.  Adigun, speaking at […]

Steel and engineering workers have raised an alarm over the closure of 272 factories and sack of 3,000 since 2016. 

The National President of Steel and Engineering Workers’ Union of Nigeria (SEWUN), Mr. Elijah Adigun, said  that any economy that is not producing goods and services could not come out of recession. 

Adigun, speaking at the union’s annual industrial relations conference and workshop held in Lagos, said since government at various levels have failed to protect local industries, workers have lost their jobs  leading to  economic  recession. 

He noted  that Nigeria needed a robust production-based solution to exit the recession.

“Our deficiencies in local production have to do with inconsistency in policies  and inefficiency in government parastatals and regulatory agencies, as most of those manning the vital sectors of the nation’s economy are operating outside their field of expertise.

“What Nigeria needs is a crop of technocrats to drive the ship of the economy out of the ocean of recession,” Adigun said.  

He said the challenges of operating in the country’s current economic context, while being conscious of global standards and trends, informed the union’s choice of ‘Employing Information Technology as a Platform for Increased Effectiveness in a Globalised Economy’ as the main theme for this year’s workshop.